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FBI looking into report of possible substance in water 2001-10-01 The Associated Press

Federal and city officials are investigating a report that a white powdery substance may have fallen from a small plane Monday into a Tulsa water reservoir. Clayton Edwards, deputy director of environmental operations for the city of Tulsa, said several fishermen reported seeing a substance coming out of a small plane flying over Lake Yahola.

Lake Yahola has been out of use since the summer because of excessive amounts of naturally occurring algae in the water, Edwards said.

The reservoir is near Tulsa International Airport. Edwards said the FBI was investigating and the city had taken water samples for testing.

There was no visible evidence of fish kills Monday, he said. The water looked normal and people continued to fish.

Lake Spavinaw feeds the reservoir. Studies have shown that lakes Eucha and Spavinaw are being degraded by phosphorus, which fuels algae growth. Phosphorous is thought to originate from chicken waste spread out on lands in the lakes' watersheds.

-- Tess (none@now.com), October 01, 2001

Answers

http://www.ktul.com/news/news.asp?story=2892

Monday, October 01, 2001

Low Flying Plane Creates Concern Over Tulsa's Water Supply Tulsa springs into action when the city's water supply appeared to be threatened. It happened at Lake Yahola, where some fishermen thought they saw something very suspicious. Witnesses say a low flying plane dropped something out of the sky and into the lake, one of Tulsa's water supplies. Fearing the worst, city officials sprang into action.

"We've had people out and look at any type of water, any fishkills," said Clayton Edwards of the City of Tulsa. "We've taken samples and we're going to have samples analyzed."

Since the attack on America three weeks ago, cities like Tulsa have been on high alert fearing an assault on things like drinking water. Tulsa has taken special precautions to safeguard since September 11th.

"We've had increased security around the plants, patrols in the area and fishermen as another set of eyes at the reservoir," Edwards said.

The good news is Tulsa's water supply was never in any danger. Once word got out, Lake Yahola was shut off and Lake Spavinaw became the only source for city water. "We test the water and the normal process is to look for contaminants that could possibly create problems for the water supply," Edwards adds.

Meanwhile, many questions still remain. City officials tell us the plane belonged to the Spartan School of Aeronautics and was eventually detained at Tulsa International Airport. Meanwhile, members of the FBI are investigating. They are also investigating the possibility of a second plane involved. This story was posted: 10/1/01

-- Tess (Tess@none.com), October 02, 2001.

-- a (Jerk@def.com), October 10, 2001.